Grateful
by NotMarge
Summary: Jim should be grateful. But he isn't. And he is.


I do not own 28 Days Later.

One of my favorites though.

Grateful

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"You should be grateful."

Jim shifted gingerly in his dream state, the words spoken what seemed like so very long ago echoing in his drifting memories.

_Grateful_.

He wasn't grateful. Not by a long shot.

He wasn't grateful that some idiot had cut across in front of him as he was riding a package to its destination, almost killing him and laying him low in the hospital. He wasn't grateful he had lain still and helpless while others had turned, fought, run, and died.

He wasn't grateful to awaken in an abandoned hospital bed with the indignity of his bits and pieces hanging out because someone had taken his covering. He wasn't grateful to have wandered alone and afraid throughout the dead city of London that he once loved so much.

He wasn't grateful that his parents, his friends, and so many others he hadn't even known were dead or infected by rage. He wasn't grateful to have seen and smelled all those dead, moldering corpses.

He wasn't grateful to be chased and attacked time after time. He wasn't grateful to have to hit the priest, murder the boy, or watch Selena viciously massacre a fearful Mark and the infected Bridges. He definitely wasn't grateful to have to change a flat tire in a darkened tunnel while infected ran screaming at them. He wasn't grateful that Frank got infected and had to die in front of his very own daughter.

He wasn't grateful that Major Henry West had promised his soldiers women or that they had been attacked as they had tried to leave. He wasn't grateful that he had been beaten by Corporal Mitchell and forced to escape death by hiding in a pile of bloated, putrefying dead bodies.

He wasn't grateful that Major West had shot him in the stomach, nearly ending his life.

He wasn't grateful for any of that at all. Not in the least.

But he was grateful for some things.

He was grateful for Selena, for her lovely, dark face and bright, intelligent eyes. He was grateful for her strength of mind and body. He was grateful that she saved him with the firebomb, with the shelter, with the candy bars and soda.

He was grateful for her enduring resilience and that she had slowed down to wait for him. He was grateful for her speed and ruthlessness with her weapon. He was grateful she had chosen to walk with him to his parents' house even though she rightly suspected what would be found there.

He was grateful for his short time with Hannah and her robust, earthy father, Frank. He was grateful for what they were to each other and for what they had represented to him and Selena. He was grateful for the clunky, heavyset car that could climb mountains of death and out maneuver the infected.

He was grateful for the vast stores of food in the abandoned market. He was grateful for the raisins, the canned fruit and veg, the carefully selected liquor Frank had chosen.

He was grateful for the quiet moments of levity, the moments of calm when you could hold your hand out the window, listen to the women playing at cards, and pretend you were off on holiday. He was grateful that the gas could be siphoned for refuel and that it was Frank who had done it and not him.

He was grateful for the nighttime fire, and the Valium, and Frank sitting up to watch over them as they slept.

He was grateful that the horses were okay.

He was grateful for Selena's sweet kiss in the field, for her tentative hope. He was grateful for her little emotional breakdown in the compound because it proved she had not completely abandoned her humanity. He was grateful to kiss her and be kissed in return because it proved they were both still alive.

He was grateful for her inner fire, for her care of him and Hannah. He was grateful for her light jokes, for her card games, for her laughter and her smile.

He was grateful he'd had the strength in his thin, battered body to save her and Hannah from brutality and rape at the hands of the crazed soldiers.

He was grateful for the cooling rain that had masked his presence just enough to save him from becoming dead or worse. He was grateful for the monster Mailer who took out the soldiers for him and made them suffer for their inhumanity.

He was grateful for the Claymore, for the piercing blade, for the rage in his own soul that enabled him to murder his fellow man.

He was grateful that Selena had waited more than a heartbeat.

He was grateful for her kiss that took him away, even for a moment, from the stench of death around him. He was grateful for Hannah and her head-shattering vase because it proved that she was still a fighter and had not succumb to debilitating fear and grief.

He was grateful that the locked gates had gave way. He was grateful that solidly built vehicle had been strong enough to break them and keep going taking them away from that house of death.

He was grateful for Selena and her chemist training that had worked its magic to bring him back from the cold embrace of death.

He was grateful for the cozy cottage stocked with supplies and empty of infected that sheltered them. He was grateful for the working sewing machine and the distraction it provided from the long, unchanging days. He was grateful for the peace, for the tranquility in which to heal and recover his life.

He was grateful for both of the women with their bright, shining spirits that stole away his dark thoughts. He was grateful that Selena chose to share a bed with him, share her warmth, share her closeness. And though they had not engaged in much physicality so far due to his gut shot condition, he was grateful for her kisses and caresses. And grateful that he could return her love with his.

He was grateful for those things. So very grateful.

Jim opened his eyes dreamily and looked around. Carefully stretching his thin, healing body felt good. He was grateful for that too.

He looked above him at the sunlight shining in through the bare window setting.

"Ah. Not the curtains as well."

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**This movie is fantastic. The real horror is not the infected but what the remaining humans are willing to do to each other. And the wonderful characters of Jim, Selena, Hannah, and Frank. They are just about perfect.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading.**

**Thanks so much Voodoo-Mutant-Child, henri8l, and Rianna for reading and reviewing. You are very kind, sweeties.**

**Everybody appreciates feedback. Leave a review if you like.**


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